Festival author claims industrial farming could ruin countryside

LARGE-scale factory farming could spell disaster for the countryside, an author has warned.

In his new book Farmageddon, co-written with The Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott, Philip Lymbery has claimed that Britain faces a wave of industrial farms and blames cheap meat as the main cause.

He said: “The countryside has been decimated over the years and common spaces have suffered drastic decline.

“We are also seeing an ebbing away of the quality of our food and at the same time perfectly good food is being fed to factory-farmed animals. And things will get worse unless we do something about it now.”

In 2005 Mr Lymbery became the chief executive of animal welfare lobbying group Compassion in World Farming, after previously working in package design.

He said his views had been shaped by a trip he took to Central Valley in California where he saw “vast plantations of almond trees and heard nothing, no birds and no bees”.

He added: “The crops were all nurtured on a massive scale using pesticides and artificial fertilisers and so the local ecosystem had disappeared.”

Mr Lymbery also saw “mega dairies” with thousands of cows enclosed into small spaces.

He is now arguing that Britons must stop buying cheap meats and invest in free-range and organic products, as well as cutting down on waste, so factory farming will be discouraged.

He added: “We need to start eating everything that we buy, instead of wasting it or throwing it in the bin.

“The Government needs a change of policy geared towards giving people good food. It is not right that people on lower incomes should have to feed their children with poor quality meat.”

Related links

Promoted stories

But National Farmers’ Union South East spokeswoman Isobel Bretherton said: “Large-scale farms, and specific farming systems, do not mean low animal welfare standards.

“The world is facing a massive challenge to feed an ever-growing population and British farming will inevitably gear up to help meet this challenge. Environmental impacts must be minimised and welfare and production standards must not be compromised.”

Promoted Stories

Comments (3)

He is correct. When I lived in California, I could not believe the lack of sounds of wildlife. At the time, I assume it was because of differences in species, but I then learned and observed it was a mix of factory farming and the American paranoia with 'bugs' (as they call insects) that they obliterate by covering their homes in black plastic sheets and fumigating them to kill of cockroaches and all else - so the birds have nothing to eat, so they starve! That plus NSA all other dystopian concepts mean we're headed for a sterile automated world run by corporations. It will be inhuman and a hell on Earth.

He is correct. When I lived in California, I could not believe the lack of sounds of wildlife. At the time, I assume it was because of differences in species, but I then learned and observed it was a mix of factory farming and the American paranoia with 'bugs' (as they call insects) that they obliterate by covering their homes in black plastic sheets and fumigating them to kill of cockroaches and all else - so the birds have nothing to eat, so they starve!
That plus NSA all other dystopian concepts mean we're headed for a sterile automated world run by corporations. It will be inhuman and a hell on Earth.Oflife

He is correct. When I lived in California, I could not believe the lack of sounds of wildlife. At the time, I assume it was because of differences in species, but I then learned and observed it was a mix of factory farming and the American paranoia with 'bugs' (as they call insects) that they obliterate by covering their homes in black plastic sheets and fumigating them to kill of cockroaches and all else - so the birds have nothing to eat, so they starve! That plus NSA all other dystopian concepts mean we're headed for a sterile automated world run by corporations. It will be inhuman and a hell on Earth.

Score: 1

King Joke says...5:55pm Wed 26 Mar 14

It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act. New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.

It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act.
New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.King Joke

It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act. New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.

Score: 0

Andrew:Oxford says...7:35pm Wed 26 Mar 14

King Joke wrote…

It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act. New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.

The Director (not a volunteer) of the Oxfordshire wing of the CPRE regularly manages to get her face and press release in this paper. We never hear of their view on the badger cull or fox hunting though. I've often wondered why.

[quote][p][bold]King Joke[/bold] wrote:
It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act.
New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.[/p][/quote]The Director (not a volunteer) of the Oxfordshire wing of the CPRE regularly manages to get her face and press release in this paper.
We never hear of their view on the badger cull or fox hunting though.
I've often wondered why.Andrew:Oxford

King Joke wrote…

It's happening already thanks to the Tories. They brought in the badger cull and are planning to repeal the hunting act. New Labour were good on hunting but allowed the supermarkets to get so powerful that factory farming is inevitable, so they are little better.

The Director (not a volunteer) of the Oxfordshire wing of the CPRE regularly manages to get her face and press release in this paper. We never hear of their view on the badger cull or fox hunting though. I've often wondered why.

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standardards Organisations's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a compaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here